The Attorney General of
the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN, yesterday,
said the Federal Government should not be held responsible for the eight days
industrial action that has crippled judicial activities across the country.
This came as former President of the Nigeria Bar Association,
NBA, and member of the National Judicial Council, NJC, Mr O. C. J. Okocha, SAN,
yesterday asked the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, to call off its
strike to enable the NBA to proceed from where they stopped the fight for
judicial autonomy. Continue..
In a statement in Abuja yesterday, Adoke maintained that
Nigerians should hold the various state governments accountable for the
indefinite strike declared by JUSUN.
The strike which commenced on January 5, a date scheduled for
the judiciary to resume work after
its yuletide, has stalled hearing on several political matters bothering on
nomination of candidates for the impending general elections.
It has also weighed down on political parties, especially in
states where parallel primary elections held.
This is even as the Independent National Electoral Commission,
INEC, has fixed today as the final day for submission of names of candidates
for the election.
Meantime, in a statement signed by the Director of Information
at the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Charles Nwodo, the AGF also insisted that the closure of
courts in the country was as a result of the refusal by some state governors to
obey a Federal High Court judgment that had on January 13, 2014, declared
financial autonomy for the judiciary.
“The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice notes with concern the on-going strike embarked upon by
JUSUN to press for the implementation of the judgment of the Federal High
Court, Abuja delivered on January 13, 2014 (Coram, A.F.A. Ademola ) in suit No.
FHC/ABJ/CS/667/13.
“The Federal High Court, among other things, ordered that the
amount standing to the credit of
the states’ judiciary in the Federation/Consolidated Revenue Fund be paid directly to the heads of courts in the
various states’ judiciary in compliance with the provisions of sections 81(3),
121 (3) and 162 (9) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
1999.
Strike directed at state
govts
“This strike is unfortunate and has paralyzed the activities of
the judiciary throughout the federation. The Honourable Attorney General of the
Federation is, however, constrained to issue this statement in view of the misconceptions and insinuations
in the print and electronic media concerning the strike and the efforts being
made to address the implementation challenges posed by the judgement.
“It is important to observe as follows: That the Federal
Government is not in breach or violation of the aforementioned judgment of the
Federal High Court. This much has been publicly acknowledged by JUSUN in all
their statements and deliberations;
“That the strike is actually directed at state governments that
are yet to comply with the judgment;
“That federal courts are thus only on sympathy strike with their
state counterparts.
“The foregoing notwithstanding, the Supervising Minister of Labour and Productively has been working
assiduously with relevant stakeholders to resolve all the challenges that may
have militated against the implementation of the judgment of the court.
“The Federal Government acknowledges the imperative of an
efficient and effective judiciary to our democratic consolidation and is doing
all that is within its constitutional powers to ensure full implementation of
the judgement.
“We, therefore, call on all well-meaning Nigerians to appreciate
the dynamics of the federal structure that Nigeria operates and the
constitutional limits of the Federal Government when dealing with the states
especially with respect to matters within their constitutional mandates.”
Call off strike, Okocha tells
JUSUN
Okocha said in as much as there was justification for the
strike, the union had made its point and should call off the strike, adding
that NBA would stand as guarantor to stakeholders to ensure that the issue was
addressed accordingly.
Meanwhile, the courts may not resume until next week as a
meeting between the workers and the government representatives has already been
tentatively fixed for the weekend to resolve the issues.
He said:“In as much as there is justification for the strike
embarked upon by the JUSUN, I think they have made their point and should call
off the strike so that we can then proceed from there.
“It is not appropriate to shut down the courts for an indefinite
period of time. The court symbolises the liberty of the citizens of Nigeria,
and indeed of any
constitutional democracy. And when you shut down the courts, you are now
leaving the citizens with no option; no avenue to ventilate their grievances.
“It is even worse for criminal suspects who are either in police
custody or awaiting arraignment before the court or in prison custody awaiting
trial for their offences.
“So I believe that having maintained the strike for one week,
JUSUN has made its point and they should call off the strike. This is a very
critical stage of our nation’s development. This is a time when we are
preparing for elections, and pre-election and post-election controversies will
arise, including criminal offences related to election.”
“Just like the NBA, which I belong to, has already appealed, I
appeal to JUSUN to kindly call off the strike. A point has been made; the
issues to be tabled for discussion will now be tabled for discussion. And the
NBA, I believe, will stand as guarantor to ensure that all concerned will take
the problem serious and address the issue accordingly.”
Another Seniour Advocate, Tayo Oyetibo, who spoke with Vanguard on telephone asked the government to
call the executive of the JUSUN and discuss with them, with a view to resolving
the issues at stake.
Oyetibo stressed that when workers go on strike, government
ought to show interest in addressing their complaints so as to restore
normalcy.
He sai9d: “The whole strike is about autonomy for the judiciary,
which I think the government should just look into because the public is the
one bearing the brunt of the strike.”
On what should be done to suspects in police custody as the
strike entred its second week, Oyetibo said: “Those in police custody can be
granted bail, if the offence is a bailable one. You grant them police bail
pending when the courts will re-open, and then you charge them to court.
“You cannot say that because of strike, you will continue to
keep them in detention for reasons that are unlawful. Most offences are
bailable, so the police should grant them bail and allow them to go on
production of sureties.”
JUSUN shut down courts across the country on January 5 to compel
the authorities to comply with the court judgement and the Memoranda of Understanding, MoU,
of January 13, 2014 and August 1, 2014 respectively on the autonomy.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola had on January 14, 2014, following a
suit by JUSUN, restrained the Federal Government and the 36 state governors
from holding on to funds meant for the judiciary.
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